Metro Life Score
Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA
Below-median composite Life Score — grade C, 30th percentile of the national corpus.
- 45.4
- Life Score / 100
- C
- Grade (curved)
- #270
- of 387 metros
- 30%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Wenatchee-East Wenatchee is below-median composite Life Score — #270 of 387 (45.4/100, grade C, 30th percentile). Carried by wages at 81/100; held back most by cost of living at 9/100.
- 30th
- composite percentile
- #270
- of 387 peers
- 9th
- cost dimension percentile
- 81st
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · signature cost
Wenatchee-East Wenatchee: cost pressure is the outlier
Wenatchee-East Wenatchee is a LOWER-band metro where cost sits only at the 9th percentile (CEILING) — the clearest outlier vs wages at the 81st and composite #270. Cost of Living (9/100) is the main drag; Wages (81/100) keeps the floor. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA ranks #270 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #351 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 103.9 (rent-RPP 115.0). BLS median salary $71,510, 46,220 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse). HUD 2BR FMR $1,500/mo (studio $1,034).
FBI UCR (WA): 329 violent, 2498 property/100K. NCES: 17.7:1 ratio, 0.6% charter. DOL infant childcare $15,987/yr. EPA: 69 Superfund sites (WA).
Where Wenatchee-East Wenatchee sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
45 30th percentile higher than 30% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · August 2026
How the 45.4 is built
Wenatchee-East Wenatchee's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Wenatchee-East Wenatchee scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are WA state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Wenatchee-East Wenatchee With...
Ranking Context
Wenatchee-East Wenatchee outranks 30% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #267 | Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 45.5 | C |
| #268 | Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | 45.5 | C+ |
| #269 | Spartanburg, SC | 45.7 | C+ |
| #270 | Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA | 45.4 | C |
| #271 | Albany, OR | 45.4 | C |
| #272 | Eugene-Springfield, OR | 45.4 | C |
| #273 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 45.4 | C |
Quality vs. Affordability
Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA is bottom 30% lowest-quality nationally but only bottom 10% least affordable among its composite-quality peers -- its Life Score is earned mostly outside the cost dimension, not through being a budget option.
WA Metro Scores
Read with Wenatchee-East Wenatchee
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Wenatchee-East Wenatchee (LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/HIGH), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Albany, OR
ABS(composite) peer at 45.4 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/HIGH.
Eugene-Springfield, OR
ABS(composite) peer at 45.4 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/HIGH.
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
ABS(composite) peer at 45.4 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/HIGH.
Raleigh-Cary, NC
ABS(composite) peer at 45.4 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/HIGH.
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 10/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
Corvallis, OR (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 9/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/HIGH - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Wenatchee-East Wenatchee's bottom-third Life Score
Wenatchee-East Wenatchee scores 45.4/100 overall, but Wages (80.8) and Cost of Living (9.3) sit 71.5 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Wages is the strongest of Wenatchee-East Wenatchee's seven dimensions (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Cost of Living is the weakest (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Yakima is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Yakima
A low composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can still be strong.